Kitchen utensils, medical supplies, dental tools and other small articles are stored in special partitioned drawers which permit separation of small articles while stored in the drawer. In many instances, it is desirable to increase the number of compartments within a drawer.
Molded utensil trays having compartments for kitchen utensils or other small objects are conventionally placed loosely in the bottom of a drawer. In some instances, it is desirable to have even more compartments to increase the available number of compartmentalized storage sections in a drawer.
One approach to this problem is shown in a product catalog published by SieMatic Mobelwerke GmbH & Co. (SieMatic) at page 77, wherein two utensil trays are assembled to a multi-part plastic drawer assembly which is adapted to be installed as a drawer of a predetermined width. A drawer roller guide supports the upper tray on its sides between the sides of the drawer. The specialized drawer has a slidable tray which is mounted by the roller guides to the sides of the drawer. The SieMatic drawer is well suited for drawers of new cabinet systems, but it is impossible to retrofit to existing drawers due to the difficulty of fitting the drawer to the sides of drawers having various widths. In addition, the SieMatic drawer has a wooden base support and side braces that require substantial assembly. The SieMatic drawer is built around a primary molded pan in which the base tray is inserted and supporting structural members for the upper tray are assembled. The molded pan is of predetermined dimensions and provides no means of fitting the device to different width drawers.
The SieMatic device is not intended to be retrofitted into different width drawers as would be essential to a simple and effective retrofit kit.
Another problem addressed by the present invention is conveniently and accessibly storing a relatively large cutting board without taking up valuable counter space. Cutting boards, if built into a counter, are troublesome to clean and keep in a sanitary condition. Large cutting boards are difficult to store in a drawer because they either cover other objects stored in the drawer or are covered by such objects. Likewise, if a cutting board is stored on a shelf, other objects would normally be stacked on the shelf or it can be inconveniently stored on edge in a cupboard. All of these alternatives fall short in terms of accessiblity.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a multiple level compartmentalized storage tray which is suitable for retrofit to a wide range of drawer sizes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a multiple level storage tray having an upper storage tray which is easily slidable in drawer guides between a closed position above a base tray slide and an open position wherein the upper tray slide is cantilevered through an opening in the back wall of the drawer.
An object of the present invention is to provide a multiple tiered drawer insert kit for retrofit in a standard drawer to increase the storage capacity of the drawer which is not difficult to install and does not require specialized tools for installation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a two-tiered compartmentalized storage tray having an upper storage tray which is biased to the closed position as the drawer is opened.
An object of an alternative embodiment of the present invention is to provide a storage mechanism for a cutting board which is associated with a cutlery storage device. The cutting board is conveniently stored with cutlery implements but does not interface unduly with access to the cutlery stored below the cutting board. The cutting board is stored on a shiftable support panel that allows the cutting board to be rolled out of the way when access to cutlery implements stored in the base tray is desired.
Another object of the alternative embodiment is to provide a cutting board that is removable from the storage location for use in any location and for cleaning in a dishwasher.
These and other problems and disadvantages are overcome and the above objects are achieved by the present invention as will be more fully described below.